West Virginia Quarterback Will Grier Details His Year In PED Purgatory

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Football:

A year in PED purgatory | Bleacher Report
Will Grier was the starting quarterback for one of the best teams in college football. Then one mistake changed everything.

No debate on running backs: WVU needs both Shell, Crawford | WV MetroNews
Rushel Shell’s third-quarter fumble at Kansas State’s 2-yard line became his final carry of the day. It also heightened calls for Justin Crawford to become West Virginia’s starting running back. That’s essentially a pointless argument.

West Virginia Mountaineers press forward as schedule toughens | ESPN
Who’s paying attention to West Virginia? The Mountaineers are ranked No. 20 in the latest Associated Press poll. They’re 4-0 with a 10.4 percent chance to win the Big 12, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. WVU is led by senior quarterback Skyler Howard, who stacks up well statistically against the bigger names in the league. The team has an underrated group of offensive skill players and a defense that sits third in the Big 12 in points and yardage allowed a year after quietly ranking second in the same categories. Yet you’ll hear hardly a word about West Virginia in a discussion on contenders.

Mountaineers keeping an eye on Texas Tech’s flying tortillas | Charleston Gazette-Mail
The last time West Virginia was unbeaten and ranked for a trip to Lubbock, Texas, a five-touchdown loss triggered a prolonged slide. But defensive end Christian Brown and cornerback Nana Kyeremeh are the only players on the current roster who played when the fifth-ranked Mountaineers fell to 5-1 with a 49-14 loss.

Defensive line wants to make Mahomes uncomfortable | The Exponent Telegram
As it prepares for its toughest challenge of the 2016 season, the West Virginia defensive line knows it must find ways to make Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes uncomfortable.

WVU’s Dana Holgorsen, Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury different branches of Mike Leach coaching tree | Charleston Gazette-Mail
They fell out of Mike Leach’s coaching tree, but Dana Holgorsen and Kliff Kingsbury branched out in different directions upon taking their first head coaching jobs. Where you’ll find so many similarities among the men in charge at West Virginia and Texas Tech, you’ll also find one major difference.

Grid Standout Walker Dies at 58 | WVU Athletics
One of the most prolific punt returners in West Virginia University football history has died.   Fulton Walker, who became the first player in Super Bowl history to return a kickoff for a touchdown, passed away suddenly Wednesday in Martinsburg, West Virginia, the Martinsburg Journal first reported.

Around The Big XII:

Big 12 Week 7 game picks: A shootout in Lubbock? | ESPN
Will West Virginia still be unbeaten after its visit to Texas Tech this weekend?

Fired Baylor coach Art Briles showed up at Browns practice as a guest coach | SBNation
Fired at Baylor in May, Briles keeps popping up.

Around The NCAA:

The Solid Verbal: Who can pull their act together in Week 7? | SBNation
The Solid Verbal: Even after some rough Septembers, a number of teams can keep building something positive in mid-October. (Thanks Dan and Ty for the shout out. <3)

SHUTDOWN FULLCAST 4.43: LEASH YOUR DUCK, PLEASE | Every Day Should Be Saturday
READER QUESTIONS, ALEX JONES, AND LIVE MASCOTS THAT SHOULD EXIST

COLLEGE FOOTBALL GAMBLING: Bama and Ohio State blowout W’s and 27 more Week 7 bets | SBNation
Can Bud’s picks continue the bounce-back hot streak?

Ohio State’s better than Wisconsin, but the Badgers have 1 major advantage | SBNation
No one has stayed within three touchdowns of Ohio State. If Wisconsin’s able to kick off 2016’s chaos party, it’s because the Badgers are fantastic on third downs.

Navy’s still winning despite losing one of its best players ever. Ken Niumatalolo explains why | SBNation
Let’s talk to the head coach about the winning culture he’s helped establish at one of the hardest places to do so.

How Michigan uses what might be the best secondary in college football | SBNation
Five amazing players give Jim Harbaugh and his ace defensive coordinator one of the country’s best units.

Today's Miss Throwdown is one of the 2016 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition cover models. CLICK HERE for Ashley Graham's Instagram.